The first rays of sunlight stretched across the blocky horizon. Airen squinted up at the sky, watching the sun slowly rise.
"What's the time now, System?"
[ 4:00 AM ]
Airen stretched his arms with a faint grin. "Perfect. Now I can begin my journey."
He glanced to his side—where the woman's corpse still lay, stiff and cold.
"Oh… I almost forgot about this." He scratched his cheek awkwardly. "What should I even do with the body?"
A thought crossed his mind. What if I just… store her in the inventory?
"System, can I store a body in the inventory?"
[ Yes. Just touch the body and say 'Store.' ]
"Really?" Airen knelt down and touched her. "Store."
In a blink, the corpse vanished, leaving only an empty patch of dirt.
Airen tilted his head. "That's… disturbingly convenient. Can I store a living human too?"
[ No. Only corpses or inanimate objects can be stored. ]
"Tch. Figures."
He pulled out the map, unfolding it carefully. To leave his crude shelter, he kicked away the two plank blocks he had placed as a makeshift barricade and stepped out into the fresh morning air.
According to the map, he needed to cross the nearby forest. Beyond that, a mountain loomed, and just past it lay his next destination: Riverwood Crossing.
"Alright… that way it is." He folded the map neatly and stored it.
For a moment, he turned back to look at his "home." A roofless, doorless box made of rough planks.
"…Damn. I thought this world would be like a game—building houses, going on adventures. Guess not."
Shaking his head, he faced forward and started walking toward the forest. This time, he didn't look back.
The forest greeted him with towering blocky trees mixed with strangely realistic ones, their leaves rustling in the early morning breeze.
"System, these trees… some look just like the ones from my world."
[Correct. Not everything here follows the cubic pattern. ]
Airen hummed, stepping deeper inside. According to the map, the forest was only about two kilometers wide—not too dense, nothing he couldn't handle.
Or so he thought.
Halfway in, a shadow passed overhead.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Three armored bodies suddenly crashed into the ground ahead of him. Dust billowed up.
Airen froze. "What the hell… now?"
He approached cautiously. The figures were motionless. Their iron vests gleamed faintly, dented and bloodstained.
"…All dead," Airen muttered, crouching beside them.
"System, who are they?"
[ Knights. They must have accompanied the girl. Look closely—one of their chestplates bears the same symbol as her pendant. ]
Airen's eyes narrowed. "Mhm… you're right."
He glanced at the gashes and scorch marks on their armor. "But who killed them? The dragon?"
[ Likely. The girl was too weak. These knights probably came to help, but they weren't enough. ]
Airen studied them with renewed interest. "How strong were these guys?"
[ Two without the symbol: one was a 1-Star Initial rank knight, the other a 2-Star Middle rank knight. ]
"There are stages between the stars, right?"
[ Yes. Initial → Middle → Final. ]
Airen frowned. "Then when can I become 2-Star?"
[ You are currently 1-Star Initial. You will reach 2-Star rank at Level 29. ]
"And the one with the symbol?"
[ A 3-Star Initial rank knight. ]
Airen sucked in a sharp breath. If I, at 1-Star, can already crack walls, then a 3-Star knight must be insanely stronger… And even they lost to that dragon.
"Damn. Dragons really are monsters."
A sudden thought nagged at him. Wait… if I level up, won't I naturally get stronger? Why the hell do I have to be a knight specifically?
"System, answer me. Why should I become a knight? Won't leveling up make me strong enough?"
[ I never said you have to become a knight. Leveling up increases only your physical strength. Becoming a knight gives you something more—mana. ]
[ With mana, you can create weapons, reinforce your body, and even form protective shields. ]
Airen raised a brow. "So… leveling up just makes me tough. But becoming a knight unlocks actual abilities."
[ Correct. ]
"…Good to know."
He turned back to the bodies. Loot time.
First, he checked the two knights without the symbol. Nothing special—no spatial rings.
"System, not everyone has those, huh?"
[ They're expensive. Only higher-ranked or wealthy people can afford them. ]
All he found in their pockets was 180 bronze coins and 2 silvers. He tossed them into his inventory with a disappointed click of his tongue. "Tsk. Poor bastards."
Finally, he crouched beside the 3-Star knight.
Airen rubbed his palms together, muttering, "Alright, let's see if you've got something better."
With an exaggerated hopeful grin, he patted the knight's armor. Then his eyes lit up. "Oh-ho! A spatial ring."
He tugged it off the corpse's finger and checked its contents. A few loaves of bread, 70 bronze, and 4 silver coins dropped into his hands.
"…That's it?"
[ His ring can only store up to 100 grams. ]
Airen's face deadpanned. "…What kind of broke knight uses a ring this weak?"
Still, he slipped it into his inventory. "Doesn't matter. A ring's a ring."
As he stacked the coins, another question struck him. "System, explain the money here. How do coins work?"
[ 100 bronze = 1 silver ]
[ 100 silver = 1 gold ]
[ 100 gold = 1 Ruby Diamond (1 gram). ]
"So ruby diamonds are the peak currency, huh." Airen smirked. "One more thing to chase."
He glanced back at the corpses, then frowned. "…Wait. Why didn't those usual three options show up? You know—Vanish, Collect loot, Store in inventory?"
[ Those appear only when you kill the target. ]
"Ohhh." Airen exhaled, scratching the back of his head. "Makes sense, I guess."
He rose to his feet, brushing dirt from his pants, and prepared to move deeper into the forest. The silence was unsettling, broken only by the crunch of twigs beneath his boots.
As he pushed further in, a foul stench hit his nose—thick, metallic, and rotten. His steps slowed. His eyes widened when he saw them.
Ten wolves, their fur matted with blood, crouched over three mangled human corpses. Flesh was torn open, bones splintered, and entrails glistened under the faint light. A massive wolf—easily twice the size of the others—stood upright, towering at nearly 2.5 meters, its golden eyes glowing in the gloom. It did not eat. It watched. Guarding.
Airen flinched, his stomach twisting as one wolf sank its teeth into a man's chest and ripped something wet and red from inside. Another dragged a limp arm away, gnawing until the bone snapped like dry wood. Two more fought over a severed leg, their growls muffled by the blood coating their jaws.
The system's voice cut through his horror.
[The wolf standing tall is an Elite Wolf. He is guarding them while they feast.]
Airen swallowed hard, whispering, "Is… is this the same Elite Wolf you told me about last night?"
[Probably. There should be only one in this area.]
Airen's hand tightened around his weapon. "You also said I could defeat an Elite Wolf now."
[Correct… but there are ten other wolves here too.]
Before he could breathe again, the sound of tearing flesh stopped. The wolves froze, blood dripping from their maws. Slowly, as if drawn by some unseen command, their heads turned in unison.
Dozens of glowing eyes locked onto him.